By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Washington State Ferries‘ staffing shortage isn’t just about difficulty in hiring.
WSF says it’s also having trouble holding onto workers, WSF says, for reasons including abusive customers.
So, WSF managers said today at the first of two online community meetings, they’re trying something new: Violate the Code of Conduct, and you’ll get handed a yellow card. Rule violations could even lead to WSF calling in the State Patrol to have you “trespassed” – ordered to stay away from WSF vessels/facilities. Here’s what the card will say on its two sides (printed on yellow stock, WSF says):
Ferry riders will hear announcements about this soon. The new effort is needed, WSF says, because its employees are subject to abuse including threats and racist and sexist insults. “We can’t rebuild this workforce if employees don’t feel it’s safe or if they feel we aren’t supporting them.” Will line-cutting be included? asked one meeting attendee. No, WSF says, as most of that happens off WSF property.
Here’s what else the hour-and-a-half meeting – which will be offered again at 6 pm Thursday – touched on:
BACK TO THE STAFFING SHORTAGE: As was explained at the last round of ferry-system community meetings six months ago, WSF is short on people, and that’s a major factor holding up full restoration of service on many routes. (The Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route has been on two boats instead of three for many months.) So WSF leaders including top boss Patty Rubstello and chief of staff Nicole McIntosh exhaustively explained training and recruiting efforts, after detailing the shortage:
They’re also working on accelerating training programs aimed at moving employees up the ladder: “In essence, we’re growing our own.” Once they have more qualified crew members, they’ll be more able to fully restore routes. Another six-week training program starts this weekend. In some cases they’re also trying to make the positions more attractive – offering more full-time work, for example.
SPEAKING OF RESTORING ROUTES: WSF is currently testing restored full service on the Edmonds/Kingston route, and once that’s declared a success, it’ll be on to testing restored full three-boat service on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route. No projected date, though.
VESSEL SHORTAGE: Having enough boats is also vital, along with having enough crew. Part of that involves maintenance and repair of the current fleet; WSF says three boats that would otherwise be retired soon will have to be kept in service – Yakima, Kaleetan, Tillikum. It’s also working toward building five new hybrid-electric ferries, though the first won’t be ready before mid-2027; M/V Wenatchee is being converted to hybrid-electric and will be back in service on the Seattle/Bainbridge route early next year.
FAUNTLEROY TERMINAL PROJECT: WSF offered quick updates on projects including this one. Rubstello noted that more than 700 community comments have been received in the past year. Next milestone is completion of the Planning and Environmental Linkage study by year’s end. (That appears to be a timeline slip, as the project website lists midyear for completion.) She reiterated that two options are now under consideration – either rebuilding the dock/terminal at its current size or expanding it, in the current location, to 124 to 186 cars. Later, in Q&A, someone asked if a second slip was under consideration. WSF’s David Sowers said it’s not currently in the plan but wouldn’t rule it out if it were shown to have “a significant operational value.”
ONE MORE NOTE: Toward the start of the meeting, Rubstello offered some toplines from the past year:
A recording will be posted to the WSF website, but in the meantime, you’re invited to see/hear the same content presented at 6 pm tomorrow night (with written Q/A accepted during the meeting) – register here to get the link.
P.S. Here’s the full slide deck from the meeting.
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